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This last week I had the privilege of coming to LA and diving into rehearsals with Elysium Conservatory Theatre (www.fearlessartists.org) as the acting company built up to opening night for their Romeo and Juliet.

Let me just say that if you've seen R&J before and think that one production tends to be much like another, go and see this show! It is unlike any other Romeo and Juliet I've ever coached or been a part of, and you'll be glad you got a chance to see it!!

Since I'm a dialect coach, I need to spend a bit of time talking about the actors that I got to work with at ECT. It's rare to find an ensemble so tightly knit together and so eager to explore the boundaries of art, human experience, and their own limits. This company works hard in every rehearsal, but what's more is that they work hard outside of every rehearsal. They are constantly striving to develop their acting technique, voice and speech technique and movement technique so they can push themselves to the next level.

I cannot tell you what a joy it is to work with a repertory company like this where, after a rehearsal, ten actors crowd around their voice coach to get as many notes as possible, and then several of them want to sit and talk for an hour after to try and find ways to better attach their acting work in the show to the voice notes that they've just been given. Then they leave (often after midnight) and carve out time to work on these things, so they can come back to the next rehearsal full of the work they've done at home!

If you are a lover of theater, check out this company! If you are an actor looking for a place where you can be pushed to be at the top of your game and be surrounded by like-minded artists, CHECK THIS COMPANY OUT!

The acting conservatory at ECT is currently accepting applications, and the word on the street is that they have some scholarships available!

As some of you may have heard, I was asked to coach several of the speakers at December's TEDx LA Conference at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.

It was a thrilling experience full of brilliant minds, inspirational ideas and AMAZING speakers!

The topics covered were diverse but they all centered around the theme "IMAGINE". Since completing the event, my mind has been racing with thoughts that were inspired by these gifted scientists, artists, and thinkers.

Add to that the setting of the Dolby Theater (where the Oscars are held BTW), and as an artist in the Film and TV business my imagination begins to soar!

Here's a quick tour of some of the speakers I was privileged enough to coach.

Brent Bushnell of Two Bit Circus

Brent gave a talk on the development of what he called "New Hollywood" and the developing storytelling device of "immersive entertainment".

Louie Schwartzberg is one of the best cinametographers in the business today, who uses his love of nature to create new perspectives in film. He works to inspire his audience to be better stewards of the Earth. His films are truly stunning!

Louie Schwartzberg

Stefano Baldassi - a neuro-scientist from Florence, Italy - is working with his team in Silicon Valley to develop new Augmented Reality technology that will enable us to move out of the 2D world of flat computer screens and keyboards, and into the 3D tactile world where we can imprint our PCs on the physical world itself and manipulate them with holograms.

I can't wait to play with this new tech!!!

Pedro Domingos, who teaches at the University of Washington and is an expert in Machine Learning, gave his talk on where he sees technology evolving over the next 100 years!

Poppy Crum, the Chief Scientist at Dolby Labs is working with immersive technologies in her labs and exploring how these experiences can help to build empathy between humans in our increasingly diverse and often divided world!

And Finally, Pablos Holman the Hacker Extraordinaire!

He spoke in a very dynamic and inspiring way about the need to think outside of the box in terms of the problems we are trying to solve in this world. How do we leave behind the mundane and enter into the larger world to truly increase the quality of life for all mankind?